site.btaUPDATED Campaign Highlights: Sept. 3

Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) leader Mustafa Karadayi said in the northwestern town of Montana that his party's turn always comes in difficult and dire times. "The change that we all expected didn't happen. Those, who dubbed themselves "change" turned into failure. They bet on revenge and hatred, which were also part of GERB's policies, and that is why for years we had been calling for dismantling GERB's model," Karadayi said. It is the Bulgarian citizens who give power, but also take power away. "We allowed ourselves the luxury to see normalcy in politics destroyed for 12 years. After that, we allowed ourselves to give hope to random passersby in politics," he said, adding that MRF has the expertise, experience and the key to solving people's problems.

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Continue the Change co-leaders Kiril Petkov and Assen Vassilev met with supporters near the Ariana Lake at the Borisova Gradina park in Sofia. “We saw how was in the National Assembly with 108 MPs – things did not work out”, Petkov told citizens who came to talk to him. He stressed that many people do not vote and that is a problem. During the event, representatives of The System Is Killing Us, a national civic initiative of mothers and legal guardians of children with disabilities, spoke with Petkov. They discussed the possibility for amendments in the Personal Assistance Act. The event was also attended by Continue the Change’s top-of-the-list candidate in Varna, Daniel Lorer, and other MP candidates, including Venko Sabrutev, Iskren Mitev and Nastimir Ananiev.

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Rise Up Bulgaria launched their election campaign in the southern city of Haskovo. Party leader Maya Manolova said that the main priority of Rise Up Bulgaria will be to protect the vulnerable, which means to increase the income of Bulgarian citizens. Manolova stressed that the minimum wage should reach BGN 1,260. “We want a recalculation of pensions and an end to the lies over the money for the elderly,” she said, adding that another priority of her party is state support and the end of energy poverty. “In next Parliament we will table a proposal for setting a price cap of BGN 2.50 on gasoline and diesel, which is their actual price,” Manolova also said.

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There Is Such a People (TISP) deputy leader Toshko Yordanov and Ruse top-of-the-list-candidate Iva Miteva launched their election campaign in the Danubian city. Yordanov said his party's main goal in these elections is to convince people about the need for morals in politics, adding that his party is holding a sincere campaign. He recalled the idea for a presidential form of governance in Bulgaria, saying that a referendum will be organized on this question. Miteva voiced hope that the election campaign will be a positive one. "I would like to see the people realize that we want to improve their way of life. We, the politicians, must find consensus between us. The people are very tired. Democracy is tired and is now synonymous with chaos," she said.

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GERB-UDF leader Boyko Borissov said in Razgrad (Northeast Bulgaria) that GERB's strength is in their straightforwardness and in following the path they have set. He noted that the state is "broken" and that he is bound by the optimism he wishes to inspire in people. Borissov noted that if GERB does not win, he will not enter elections any more. The event was attended by Razgrad's top-of-the-list candidate Desislava Atanasova, who pointed out GERB's support and accomplishments in Razgrad and the need for vocal points in order to realize all commitments.

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Democratic Bulgaria's (DB) priority is to ensure that the social services sector offers services, DB MP candidate Elisaveta Belobradova told BTA in Dobrich (Northeast Bulgaria). There is money, but there's no services, or if there are, they're largely hollow and not functional when it comes to serving people's individual needs, she said. According to her, it's time for true reforms that will end the handing out of money piecemeal. The prices of electricity and fuels are not a local, but a global problem, she said. According to Belobradova, Bulgarian politicians must have bravado and not give in to insinuations and "attempts to make us bow before Russia", because consumers will not benefit from this. True compensations and State aid must be considered, while upholding Bulgaria's positions as a member of the EU and NATO, she argued.

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BSP for Bulgaria's national election campaign was opened by Socialist leader Korneliya Ninova in the coastal city of Burgas. "We're heading towards the elections with a feeling of a job well-done," Ninova addressed the crowd, noting that the economy and social policy are most important for her party. "The first resolution we'll submit in parliament will be a cap on the price at which natural gas is sold to companies and households, while the difference is covered by the State," she said. Ninova recalled that her party has fought against GERB's model for six year, while in opposition. "We showed that an end can be put to this model of theft, circles of companies, syphoning BGN 10 billion from the State," she said.

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The sequence of the campaign highlights featured in this report follows the ballot numbers of the 29 contestants in the October 2 snap parliamentary elections.